ITALIAN GRAVY OR SAUCE RECIPES

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl, mix together the garlic powder, cheeses, breadcrumbs, and dried basil. Set the mix aside
• Lay the flank steak on a clean surface and pound flat with a meat tenderizer. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper.
• Evenly distribute the breadcrumb filling among the flank steaks and roll, beginning on the short end, all the way up like a jelly roll. Tie the rolls closed with butchers twine to secure the braciole. 
• Pour the olive oil into a large pot and heat over medium high heat. Sear the braciole rolls for about 30 second on each side, just to brown the meat quickly. 
• Add the tomato sauce to the pot and lower the heat to low. Cover and cook the braciole for an hour, basting the rolls occasionally to ensure they do not dry out.
• Serve hot along with the sauce! 

Steps:

• For the meatballs: Combine all ingredients except the olive oil in a large bowl. Mix well. Form about 16 meatballs and place on a platter. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and fry meatballs over medium heat until browned. Repeat until all meatballs are browned. Place meatballs on new clean platter. Do not discard the oil.
• For the Gravy: In the skillet, heat the reserved oil, add the onion and garlic and saute for approximately 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook on medium heat for 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Fill the empty tomato paste can full of water, add to the skillet, and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Remove from heat and set aside.
• In an 8-quart saucepan, add the ground tomatoes and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Fill the empty ground tomato can 3/4 full of water and add to the saucepan, along with the tomato paste mixture from the skillet and the reserved browned meatballs. Mix thoroughly but carefully with a wooden spoon so as to not break the meatballs. Add the salt, ground pepper, and parsley and cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, then cover and cook on low heat for 2 1/2 hours, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent sticking and burning on bottom of pan. Serve over al dente pasta and sprinkle with some grated Pecorino Romano cheese, along with crusty Italian bread and a good bottle of red wine.